Outage notification with client control modification in an ABR streaming network

ABSTRACT

A scheme for modulating an adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming client engaged in a current ABR streaming session. In one implementation, a determination is made whether a wireless UE device executing the ABR streaming client is approaching a radio white spot area. If so, a video buffer of the ABR client is configured to preload lower quality video segments to last for the duration of the radio white spot area. One or more ABR client controls may be selectively deactivated while the wireless UE device is in the radio white spot area.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application discloses subject matter that is related to the subjectmatter of the following commonly-owned U.S. patent application(s): (i)“ABR VIDEO WHITE SPOT COVERAGE SYSTEM AND METHOD”, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/200,491, filed Mar. 7, 2014, in the name(s) ofJohan Kohli et al.; (ii) “ADAPTIVE VIDEO WHITE SPOT LEARNING AND USERBANDWIDTH DELIVERY CONTROL SYSTEM”, U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/036,841, filed Sep. 25, 2013, in the name(s) of Christopher Phillipset al.; (iii) “CONFLICT DETECTION AND RESOLUTION IN AN ABR NETWORK”,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/194,868, filed Mar. 3, 2014, in thename(s) of Christopher Phillips et al.; and (iv) “CONFLICT DETECTION ANDRESOLUTION IN AN ABR NETWORK USING CLIENT INTERACTIVITY”, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/194,918, filed Mar. 3, 2014, in the name(s) ofChristopher Phillips et al., each of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to communication networks. Moreparticularly, and not by way of any limitation, the present disclosureis directed to a scheme for managing coverage in a wireless networkenvironment configured to facilitate adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming ofcontent.

BACKGROUND

While mobile radio data network coverage is widespread, there may beareas where data coverage is low or where there is not enough channelnoise due to various factors such as, e.g., structures, interference,weather, etc. Although phone calls can generally overcome these issuesby switching to a different network protocol, video delivered over datanetworks generally cannot. Accordingly, when consuming video via ABRstreaming while traveling though an area of low coverage or poor signalquality, it becomes necessary to manage a user's experience in asatisfactory manner.

SUMMARY

The present patent disclosure is broadly directed to systems, methods,apparatuses, devices, and associated non-transitory computer-readablemedia for managing ABR streaming sessions in a wireless networkenvironment that may have potential video outage areas (also referred toherein as “white spots ”). In one aspect, an embodiment of a method formodulating an ABR streaming client engaged in a current ABR streamingsession is disclosed. The claimed method involves, inter alia,determining that a wireless UE device executing the ABR streaming clientis approaching or will be in a radio white spot area (i.e., video outagearea). The ABR client's video buffer may be preloaded or “primed ”withlower quality segments that may be determined to last for the estimatedduration of video outage. Further, one or more ABR client controls maybe deactivated while the wireless UE device is in the radio white spotarea in order to help mitigate potentially adverse behavior that mayresult from engaging the client controls while playing out of the primedbuffer.

In another aspect, an embodiment of a wireless UE device comprises anABR buffer for storing media segments encoded at different bitratespursuant to an ABR streaming session and an ABR client player configuredto play back content out of the ABR buffer. The claimed wireless UEdevice further comprises one or more processors coupled to a persistentmemory having program instructions for controlling the ABR client playerto disable at least one ABR client player control when the wireless UEdevice is in a radio white spot area.

In a still further aspect, an embodiment of a network subsystemconfigured to modulate an ABR streaming client is disclosed. The claimedsubsystem may be implemented as part of a radio network controller, andmay include, inter alia, an ABR stream delivery server for facilitatingABR streaming sessions in a wireless radio network environment; a videooutage and Quality of Service (QoS) datastore having geographic locationdata pertaining to areas where radio coverage is suboptimal forstreaming content to a wireless UE device executing the ABR streamingclient; and a video outage awareness and notification node coupled tothe ABR stream delivery server and the video outage and QoS datastore.The video outage awareness and notification node is adapted todetermine, responsive to a location update from the wireless UE device,that the wireless UE device is approaching a radio white spot area; andto provide a notification to the wireless UE device that one or more ABRclient controls will be disabled while the wireless UE device is in theradio white spot area.

In still further aspects, one or more embodiments of a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium containing computer-executable programinstructions or code portions stored thereon are disclosed forperforming one or more embodiments of the methods set forth above whenexecuted by a processor entity of a network node, element, UE device,and the like, mutatis mutandis. Further features of the variousembodiments are as claimed in the dependent claims.

Advantages of the present invention include, but not limited to, theability to adapt to ad hoc issues such as, e.g., inclement weatherinterference, variable low radio quality, noise, etc. that may beencountered in a wireless ABR streaming environment, wherein there isusually enough bandwidth in normal conditions to both pre-cache contentas well as watch a video or other requested programming simultaneously.By detecting potential video outage areas in a wireless network andappropriately notifying the users in a preemptive fashion (e.g., beforethe user attempts to change ABR player controls in an outage area),better user experience may be achieved in the ABR streaming environment,for example. Additional benefits and advantages of the embodiments willbe apparent in view of the following description and accompanyingFigures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example,and not by way of limitation, in the Figures of the accompanyingdrawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It shouldbe noted that different references to “an” or “one” embodiment in thisdisclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and suchreferences may mean at least one. Further, when a particular feature,structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anembodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of oneskilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristicin connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitlydescribed.

The accompanying drawings are incorporated into and form a part of thespecification to illustrate one or more exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure. Various advantages and features of the disclosurewill be understood from the following Detailed Description taken inconnection with the appended claims and with reference to the attacheddrawing Figures in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an example wireless network environment for facilitatingABR streaming and ABR client control modulation according to one or moreembodiments of the present patent application;

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart of an example methodology for building adatabase of video outage areas (i.e., radio white spot areas) accordingto an embodiment for purposes of the present patent application;

FIG. 3 depicts an example environment where occurrence of a potentialvideo outage area may be estimated for notifying an ABR client accordingto an embodiment for purposes of the present patent application;

FIGS. 4A-4C depict flowcharts of various blocks, steps and/or acts thatmay be combined in one or more arrangements that illustrate one or moreembodiments of the present patent disclosure for modulating ABR clientcontrols while traversing a white spot area of a wireless networkenvironment;

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7A-7B depict flowcharts of additional details withrespect to one or more embodiments of the present patent disclosure;

FIG. 8 depicts additional details with respect to an example wirelessnetwork environment optimized for ABR streaming and associated clientcontrol according to an embodiment of the present patent disclosure;

FIG. 9 depicts a block diagram of an example wireless user equipment(UE) device including an ABR client configured to execute certainaspects according to one or more embodiments of the present patentapplication; and

FIG. 10 depicts a block diagram of an example network element configuredto execute certain aspects according to one or more embodiments of thepresent patent application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forthwith respect to one or more embodiments of the present patentdisclosure. However, it should be understood that one or moreembodiments may be practiced without such specific details. In otherinstances, well-known circuits, subsystems, components, structures andtechniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure theunderstanding of the example embodiments. Accordingly, it will beappreciated by one skilled in the art that the embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be practiced without such specific components. Itshould be further recognized that those of ordinary skill in the art,with the aid of the Detailed Description set forth herein and takingreference to the accompanying drawings, will be able to make and use oneor more embodiments without undue experimentation.

Additionally, terms such as “coupled” and “connected,” along with theirderivatives, may be used in the following description, claims, or both.It should be understood that these terms are not necessarily intended assynonyms for each other. “Coupled” may be used to indicate that two ormore elements, which may or may not be in direct physical or electricalcontact with each other, co-operate or interact with each other.“Connected” may be used to indicate the establishment of communication,i.e., a communicative relationship, between two or more elements thatare coupled with each other. Further, in one or more example embodimentsset forth herein, generally speaking, an element, component or modulemay be configured to perform a function if the element is capable ofperforming or otherwise structurally arranged to perform that function.

As used herein, a network element or node may be comprised of one ormore pieces of service network equipment, including hardware andsoftware that communicatively interconnects other equipment on a network(e.g., other network elements, end stations, etc.), and is adapted tohost one or more applications or services with respect to a plurality ofsubscribers. As such, some network elements may be disposed in awireless radio network environment whereas other network elements may bedisposed in a public packet-switched network infrastructure, includingor otherwise involving suitable content delivery network (CDN)infrastructure. Accordingly, some network elements may comprise“multiple services network elements” that provide support for multiplenetwork-based functions (e.g., NV media management, session control,Quality of Service (QoS) policy enforcement, bandwidth schedulingmanagement, subscriber/device policy and profile management, contentprovider priority policy management, streaming policy management,advertisement push policy management, and the like), in addition toproviding support for multiple application services (e.g., data andmultimedia applications). Subscriber end stations or client devices maycomprise any device configured to execute, inter alia, a streamingclient application (e.g., an ABR streaming client application) forreceiving content from one or more content providers, e.g., via mobiletelephony networks. Such client devices may therefore include portablelaptops, netbooks, palm tops, tablets, mobile phones, smartphones,multimedia phones, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phones,mobile/wireless user equipment, portable media players, portable gamingsystems or consoles (such as the Wii®, Play Station 3®, etc.) and thelike that may access or consume content/services provided over a contentdelivery network via a suitable high speed wireless connection forpurposes of one or more embodiments set forth herein. Further, theclient devices may also access or consume content/services provided overbroadcast networks (e.g., cable and satellite networks) as well as apacket-switched wide area public network such as the Internet viasuitable service provider access networks. In a still further variation,the client devices or subscriber end stations may also access or consumecontent/services provided on virtual private networks (VPNs) overlaid on(e.g., tunneled through) the Internet.

One or more embodiments of the present patent disclosure may beimplemented using different combinations of software, firmware, and/orhardware. Thus, one or more of the techniques shown in the Figures(e.g., flowcharts) may be implemented using code and data stored andexecuted on one or more electronic devices or nodes (e.g., a subscriberclient device or end station, a network element, etc.). Such electronicdevices may store and communicate (internally and/or with otherelectronic devices over a network) code and data using computer-readablemedia, such as non-transitory computer-readable storage media (e.g.,magnetic disks, optical disks, random access memory, read-only memory,flash memory devices, phase-change memory, etc.), transitorycomputer-readable transmission media (e.g., electrical, optical,acoustical or other form of propagated signals—such as carrier waves,infrared signals, digital signals), etc. In addition, such networkelements may typically include a set of one or more processors coupledto one or more other components, such as one or more storage devices(e.g., non-transitory machine-readable storage media) as well as storagedatabase(s), user input/output devices (e.g., a keyboard, a touchscreen, a pointing device, and/or a display), and network connectionsfor effectuating signaling and/or bearer media transmission. Thecoupling of the set of processors and other components may be typicallythrough one or more buses and bridges (also termed as bus controllers),arranged in any known (e.g., symmetric/shared multiprocessing) orheretofore unknown architectures. Thus, the storage device or componentof a given electronic device or network element may be configured tostore code and/or data for execution on one or more processors of thatelement, node or electronic device for purposes of implementing one ormore techniques of the present disclosure.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, depictedtherein is an example wireless network environment 100 for facilitatingABR streaming and ABR client control modulation according to one or moreembodiments of the present patent application. A plurality of exemplarywireless or mobile devices or user equipment (UE) devices 108-1 to 108-Nare shown as being operational in the wireless environment 100comprising an exemplary mobile communication network or carrier network102. In the discussion herein, the terms “wireless network,” “mobilecommunication network,” “carrier network”, or terms of similar importmay be used interchangeably to refer to a wireless communication network(e.g., a cellular network, a proprietary data communication network, acorporate-wide wireless network, etc.) that facilitates voice and/ordata communications with different types of wireless mobile devices(e.g., devices 108-1 to 108-N). In one embodiment, such devices may be aUser Equipment (UE) or a Mobile Station (MS) (also referred to byvarious analogous terms such as “mobile handset,” “wireless handset,”“mobile device,” “mobile terminal,” etc.) capable of receivingadaptively streamed/delivered audio-visual content from the network 102and playing it using a local ABR client player executing thereon. Insome other embodiments, wireless mobile devices may comprise portablegaming devices, electronic tablets, laptops equipped with suitablewireless modems, e-readers, and the like, as alluded to previously. Tothe extent a wireless UE device may include an ABR client player foreffectuating video streaming, it may also be referred to as an ABRclient device or mobile client device, or simply a client, depending onthe context for purposes of the present patent application.

UE devices 108-1 to 108-N are shown to be in wireless communication (viarespective radio links 110-1 to 110-N) with the wireless network 102through one or more base stations, e.g., base station (BS) 104 (alsointerchangeably referred to herein as a “mobile communication networknode” or simply a “node”) of the network 102. The example base station104 may provide radio interface (in the form of suitable Radio Frequency(RF) links depending on the particular mobile communications technology)to devices 108-1 to 108-N via appropriate antenna elements. By way ofexample, the base station 104 may comprise a base station in a ThirdGeneration (3G) network, or an evolved Node-B (eNodeB or eNB) when thecarrier network is a Third Generation Partnership Project's (3GPP) LongTerm Evolution (LTE) network. In some example embodiments, the basestation 104 may also include a site controller, an access point (AP), aradio tower, or any other type of radio interface device capable ofoperating in a wireless environment. In addition to providing airinterface or wireless channel (e.g., as represented by wireless links110-1 to 110-N) to the wireless UE devices, the communication node (orbase station) 104 may also perform radio resource management (as, forexample, in case of an eNodeB in an LTE system). In case of a 3G carriernetwork, example base station 104 may include functionalities of a 3Gbase station along with some or all functionalities of a 3G RadioNetwork Controller (RNC). Additionally, base station 104 may be part ofan Access Network (AN) (not shown) portion of the carrier network 102,wherein the AN may be a 3GPP cellular AN or an International MobileTelecommunication (IMT) Radio Access Network (RAN) such as, for example,a Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), an Evolved-UTRAN(E-UTRAN), a GSM/EDGE RAN (GERAN), a Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX) network, and the like.

Example carrier network 102 may include a network controller 106 coupledto the base station 104 for providing logical and control functionsrelative to, e.g., roaming support and/or terminal mobility management,subscriber account management, billing, etc., as well as accessing ofexternal networks or communication entities and delivery of streamed NVcontent from one or more content sources. By way of example,connectivity to other networks or infrastructures such as, for instance,the Internet 112, CDN 116 and a circuit-switched landline telephonenetwork (i.e., a Public-Switched Telephone Network or PSTN) 114, isillustrated. In case of an LTE carrier network, network controller 106may include some or all functionalities of an Access Gateway (AGW) or anEvolved Packet Core (EPC) node. In certain embodiments, suchfunctionalities may comprise, for example, an IMT core networkfunctionality or an ETSI TISPAN (European Telecommunications StandardsInstitute TIPHON (Telecommunications and Internet Protocol Harmonizationover Networks) and SPAN (Services and Protocols for Advanced Networks))core network functionality. Regardless of a particular implementation ofthe carrier network, base station 104 and/or network controllerfunctionality 106 may be configured to facilitate, in conjunction withor independent of one or more external network entities and databases,methodologies for controlling delivery of ABR streaming sessions as wellas modulating ABR client player controls in potential video outage areasthat may be encountered in the wireless network environment 100, as willbe set forth in detail hereinbelow.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart of an example methodology 200 for building adatabase of video/ABR outage areas (i.e., radio white spot areas)according to an embodiment for purposes of the present patentapplication. As shown at block 202 in FIG. 2, a network entity (e.g., inthe carrier network 102 or a subscriber policy management nodeassociated with CDN 116 of FIG. 1) may initially determine a minimumthreshold bitrate (e.g., for enforcing a QoS policy) authorized under anadaptive streaming technique used by a mobile device (e.g., wireless UEdevice 108-1) to play an audio/visual content file or program. Thenetwork entity may then monitor whether a current audio/visual segmentis being delivered to the wireless UE device at a delivery bitrate thatis lower than the threshold bitrate (block 204). When the deliverybitrate of the current streaming segment is determined to be lower thanthe threshold bitrate, the network entity may obtain the geographiclocation coordinates for the wireless UE device (block 206) because suchreduced delivery bitrate may indicate a less than acceptable service,possibly due to various radio signal quality conditions, including aradio outage condition. Thereafter, the network entity may report thosegeographical location coordinates for storage into a database (block208), which may be configured to maintain a dataset of geo-locations(e.g., in the form of location coordinates) with respect to thegeographical area of the network 102 that have a less-than-desired radiocoverage. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the dataset ofvideo outage areas is not static and may not necessarily mean that thereis a complete radio outage at the reported locations. Depending onvariable signal parameters, improvements to the infrastructure, changesin the environmental and structural elements (e.g., buildings, towers,etc.) within the wireless network environment, and the like, a locationdatabase of potential white spot areas may be continually and/ordynamically updated as needed (i.e., by way of a learning process).Furthermore, white spot area databases and/or server systems hostingsuch databases may be provided with suitable application programinterfaces or APIs that facilitate interaction with other networkentities and services, e.g., including bandwidth control.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that if the network entity(e.g., network controller 106 in FIG. 1) serving a mobile devicedetermines that the mobile device is heading toward an outage area(e.g., while roaming in a vehicle) where data coverage is poor orless-than-desired, the network entity may calculate how long it wouldtake for that vehicle to reach closest to the video outage area based onthe vehicle's current speed and direction of travel. Such a calculationmay yield, among others, parameters such as“Time_to_video_outage_location” or “Time_to_location”, which may be usedto further calculate how long the network entity should wait beforeforcing (e.g., by limiting the bandwidth of the delivered data) orinstructing (e.g., via a message) the mobile device to switch to a lowerbitrate within the manifest file associated with a streaming session.For example, a UE-specific message may be sent from the network entityinforming the UE to switch to the lowest bitrate in the currently-playedvideo segment's manifest file while traversing the white spot area.

In one embodiment, by preemptively forcing a bitrate change, the networkentity may enable the mobile device's client player to fill availableempty portions of its playback buffer with lower quality video segments,resulting in a larger number of segments pre-downloaded. With moresegments in its playback buffer, the client can continue the videoplayback for a much longer time than with fewer segments at a higherbitrate stream. Thus, by forcing the client to the lowest bitrate andenabling it to fill its internal buffer with lower quality videosegments to maximize the video playout length, the network entity mayenable the mobile client to navigate through the outage area (assumingthat the vehicle carrying the mobile device reasonably maintains thesame speed of travel/heading) without video data disruptions. In oneembodiment, such “advance” filling of client's playback buffer (withlower quality video segments) just prior to the client device's entryinto an outage area may be sufficient to enable the client device tocross that area without running out of video segments during transit. Inanother embodiment, the network entity may perform a different type ofcalculation to determine the “proper” or “most suitable” bitrate basedon a calculated length of time to navigate the outage area. Thiscalculation may prevent the mobile client from going to the absoluteworst video quality (e.g., at the lowest bitrate in the manifest) if thecalculated time to navigate through the outage area based on varioussegment bitrates can settle on a higher quality of video (at a higherbitrate) and still fill the client's playback buffer with enough playouttime to make it through the outage area without video interruptions.

Because encoded content segments may be defined for the client playeracross multiple bitrates in ABR streaming, a key consideration is to“prime” the mobile client based on available bitrate(s) at a locationbefore entering an outage area. In one implementation, priming theclient may commence after it has been determined that the system cannotachieve the highest bitrate of the manifest but at the highest bit ratethat has been determined to be possible at a particular location. Forexample, a client might be able to get 2 megabits per second (Mbps orMbs) but it is desired that the client buffer be primed for the 800 Kbsstream at a minimum. In an example manifest having 400 Kbs, 800 Kbs, and1.3 Mbs formats, streaming could be throttled at 1.2 Mbs, allowing thebuffer to be primed as fast as possible but at 800 Kbs.

By way of an example implementation, a parameter called“Time_to_lower_bitrate” may be calculated based on the“Time_to_location” parameter mentioned above as well as available lowestsegment delivery bitrate values so that enough video segments may bedelivered to the mobile UE client while is still under acceptable datacoverage (from the serving base station infrastructure) prior toentering the video outage area. The network entity may ascertain whetherthe client device's actual physical location (e.g., as reported by thedevice itself or as determined using one or more known or heretoforeunknown location/positioning methods) has reached a “CalculatedLocation” (i.e., the location the UE-carrying vehicle may reach,assuming no significant change in the direction or speed of travel,where the bitrate is to be lowered) to force the lower delivery bitrate.If there is a change in one or more variables (e.g., a significantchange in travel direction or speed), the network entity may return toits monitoring of the streaming delivery session as well as the mobileclient's parameters to recalculate appropriate parameters to determineadjusted times where the lowered delivery rates should start.Accordingly, by selecting the lowest authorized bitrates in themanifest, and thereby enabling the mobile client to fill its videoplayback buffer with sufficient number of video segments (albeit oflower quality), sufficient video buffer priming may be provided to lastthrough a video outage area.

Referring to FIG. 3 now, an exemplary pictorial representation 300 showshow the forced bitrate control scheme may enable a UE-carrying vehicle308 to have an uninterrupted playback of the ABR-delivered video contentwhile transiting through a video outage region 312. Initially, the UEmay be downloading ABR video segments at the bitrate of 2 megabits persecond (Mbs or Mbps). If the UE's ABR client has a playback buffer 302of size 32 MB, that buffer may be able to accommodate twelve (12) such 2Mbs segments (assuming that each segment contains 10 seconds of video).As a result, the UE would have 2 minutes (12 segments×10seconds/segment) of High Quality (HQ) playback time as exemplified bythe buffer configuration 302, which the UE's player would continue toplay from its buffer. When the UE/vehicle 308 starts approaching theoutage area 312 as indicated by the example travel direction 306, thenetwork entity may determine—based on UE/vehicle's speed and directionof travel—that the UE/vehicle 308 would “hit” the outage region 312 inthe next 7.1 minutes, as exemplified by the illustrative calculationblock 314. As shown, the estimated direction/heading of the vehicle issuch that the radio signal quality becomes progressively less desirable,as exemplified by signal strength bars 305, 307 and 309, before theoutage area 312 is encountered. In one embodiment, whenever a UE/vehicleis within certain time interval (e.g., 7 to 8 minutes of travel time orits corresponding distance based the vehicle's velocity) from the outageregion 312, the network entity may force the UE to switch to a lowerbitrate for playback of video content (e.g., the lowest bitrate in thevideo content's manifest file). Hence, in the illustrativerepresentation 300 of FIG. 3, when the network entity determines thatthe UE/vehicle 308 is heading toward the outage region 312 and would“hit” that region in the next 7.1 minutes, the network entity may reduceits segment delivery bitrate to 600 Kbps as indicated at the examplecalculation block 314. As a result, the UE's ABR player would be forcedto select the lowest bitrate in the manifest (e.g., 500 Kbps) todownload video segments from the network's content delivery server.Instead of the previous HQ segments at 2 Mbps, the client player wouldbe now forced to start maintaining its playback buffer with Low Quality(LQ) video segments downloaded at the lowest manifest bitrate of 500Kbps, as illustrated by the buffer configuration 304. This process maycontinue as shown by the buffer configurations 316 and 318 and concludewhen the entire playback buffer is filled with such LQ video segments.

When the UE/vehicle is physically closest to the outage region—asindicated by reference numeral 310—the client's playback buffer would befilled with enough 500 Kbps segments to allow the UE/vehicle “traverse”the outage area 312 without playback interruption. In the embodiment ofFIG. 3, it is shown that the client's 32 MB playback buffer is nowfilled with a plurality of LQ (500 Kbps) video segments, each segmentcontaining 10 seconds of video, which would allow the client to haveabout 8.5 minutes (e.g., 51 segments×10 seconds/segment) of LQ play. Ifthe UE-carrying vehicle 308 is traveling at 60 MPH, this would allowuninterrupted video playback for the next 8.5 miles of travel distance,which may be significantly more than the “size” (in terms of thetraversal distance) of the outage region 312 in the vehicle's directionof travel. Additional details regarding forced delivery rate techniquesmay be found in one or more of the following commonly owned co-pendingU.S. patent application(s): (i) “ADAPTIVE VIDEO WHITE SPOT LEARNING ANDUSER BANDWIDTH DELIVERY CONTROL SYSTEM” (Ericsson Ref. No.: P40959-US1),application Ser. No. 14/036,841, filed Sep. 25, 2013, in the name(s) ofChristopher Phillips et al., cross-referenced hereinabove and herebyincorporated by reference herein.

Whereas a forced bitrate control technique employing buffer priming,e.g., in accordance with the embodiments set forth above, may allow anABR client to continue to play back video content while passing througha known outage area, engaging some client player functionalities byusers during such playout may give rise to unexpected—and potentiallydisruptive—results, however. For example, if the user decides to changethe current content streaming session (i.e., switching the currentstreaming channel) to receive some other content, not only the ABRplayer will not be able to switch to the intended new channel, it mayexperience glitches if it decides to switch back to the “old” channel.Also, it may not be possible to engage in any trick mode or trick playthat mimic actions such as, e.g., fast-forwarding or rewind, etc., whileplaying out from the primed video buffer, thereby leaving the usersomewhat less than satisfied with the playback experience. FIGS. 4A-4Cdepict flowcharts of various blocks, steps and/or acts that may becombined in one or more arrangements that illustrate one or moreembodiments of the present patent disclosure for modulating or otherwiseselectively controlling channel changing or other navigational controlsof the client player while traversing a radio white spot area of awireless network environment. Reference numeral 400A in FIG. 4Agenerally refers to a broad methodology for allowing deactivation ordisablement of one or more ABR client controls of a wireless UE deviceengaged in a forced bitrate streaming session according to oneembodiment. For purposes of the present patent application, the wirelessUE device may be configured to receive or otherwise consume varioustypes of content via streaming sessions effectuated over a suitablewireless connection, which streaming sessions may at least partlyinvolve delivery or distribution of convent via a delivery network suchas CDN 116 coupled to the wireless network serving the wireless UEdevice regardless of whether the wireless network is a home network or avisited network. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, example CDN116 may comprise an overlay network architected for high-performancestreaming of a variety of digital assets or program assets as well asservices (hereinafter referred to as “content”) to subscribers,including wireless/mobile equipment users, using one or moreInternet-based infrastructures, private/dedicated infrastructures or acombination thereof. In general, the terms “content”, “content file”, or“media segment” and the like as used in reference to at least someembodiments of the present patent disclosure may include digital assetsand program assets such as any type of audio/video content or programsegment, live or static (e.g., recorded over-the-air free networktelevision (TV) shows or programs, pay TV broadcast programs via cablenetworks or satellite networks, free-to-air satellite TV shows, IPTVprograms, etc.), Over-The-Top (OTT) and video-on-demand (VOD) ormovie-on-demand (MOD) shows or programs, time-shifted TV (TSTV) content,as well as other content assets provided by content publishers, ownersor providers, including but not limited to software files, executablecomputer code or programs, online electronic games, Internet radioshows/programs, entertainment programs, educational programs, movies,music video programs, and the like, that may be delivered using anyknown or heretofore unknown streaming technologies. By way ofillustration, content delivered via the serving wireless network (e.g.,carrier network 102) may be encoded using suitable ABR streamingtechniques to support Microsoft® Silverlight® Smooth Streaming, HTTPstreaming (for instance, Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP or DASH,HTTP Live Streaming or HLS, HTTP Dynamic Streaming or HDS, etc.),Icecast, and so on.

In general, the overlay architecture of CDN 116 may include amulti-level, hierarchically-organized interconnected assembly of networkservers for providing media pathways or “pipes” from one or more centraldistribution nodes to one or more levels of regional distribution nodesthat are connected to one or more local edge servers and/or radionetwork entities configured to serve a plurality of end users orsubscribers in respective serving location areas. In addition to such“distribution servers”, CDN 116 may also include and/or interoperatewith various network elements configured to effectuate requestredirection or rerouting mechanisms as well as related back officesystems or nodes such as operator/subscriber policy management systems,bandwidth scheduling systems, account/billing systems, and the like,that may be deployed as part of a streaming network back officeinfrastructure (not specifically shown in FIG. 1).

Continuing to refer to FIG. 4A, a determination may be made at block 402that the wireless UE device including a suitable ABR client andcurrently engaged in an ABR streaming session is heading towards and/orentering a radio white spot area based on a variety of techniques forpositioning/locating and estimating a travel direction of a mobiledevice known in the art. For example, such techniques may comprisepositioning methods based on radio cell coverage, Global PositioningSystem (GPS), Assisted GPS (A-GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System(GLONASS), Galileo, or other satellite based systems/methods, orTime-Of-Arrival (TOA), Uplink Time Difference Of Arrival (UTDOA),Observed Time Difference Of Arrival (OTDOA), or Enhanced Observed TimeDifference (E-OTD) methods. In general, additional description of thepositioning methods in a cellular network may be found in such 3GPPTechnical Specifications (TS) as, for example, the TS 36.305 (E-UTRAN;Stage 2 functional specification of UE positioning in E-UTRAN), the TS25.305 (Stage 2 functional specification of UE positioning in UTRAN),and TS 43.059 (Functional stage 2 description of Location Services (LCS)in GERAN). Many of these positioning methods may be based on networktriangulation, Wi-Fi positioning, and/or wireless UE device's internalsources such as accelerometers, position sensors, etc., in addition toutilizing speed/direction estimations of a vehicle in which the wirelessUE device may be operating. Accordingly, given a set of current locationcoordinates of the wireless UE device (and/or the vehicle) as well as aspeed/direction estimate associated therewith, it can be anticipated asto where and when the vehicle and its UE device (hereinafter, the terms“vehicle” and “wireless UE device” operating therein will be usedsomewhat interchangeably for purposes of the example embodiments unlessotherwise expressly noted) will encounter radio white spots over aprojected route and/or duration of time by querying a suitable videooutage database.

After determining that the wireless UE device is in a radio white spotarea and the client player is playing out or will play out from thevideo buffer primed with lower quality segments as discussed above, oneor more client controls may be disabled or deactivated (block 404). Forexample, such client controls may comprise functionalities such aschannel change, fast-forward, rewind, and/or trick mode. Referencenumeral 400B in FIG. 4B generally refers to at least a portion ofadditional features and associated blocks that may be added, replaced,or supplemented, either alone or in any combination, in respect of theABR client control modulation/modification process 400A described above.As one variation, for example, a notification may be provided to the ABRclient informing the user of the outage condition and/or its duration(block 412) that may be estimated as discussed above in reference toFIG. 3. A further determination or inquiry may be made as to whether theuser wants to continue with the current ABR streaming session (e.g.,continue to play back the video content out of the primed buffer), asset forth at block 414. If so, a further message, warning, alert ornotification may be provided (block 416) to indicate that certain ABRclient controls will be disabled while in the outage area (e.g., for aspecific time duration in order to avoid potential disruption of thecurrent video streaming session). If the user does not wish to continuewith the current streaming session, the playback of the primed buffercontent may be suspended, terminated or otherwise disabled. In a stillfurther variation, yet another inquiry may be as to whether the userwants to play back certain pre-cached local content (which may bereferred to as alternative content). Accordingly, in certain additionalor alternative embodiments, the ABR client of the wireless UE device maybe instructed to commence playback of other content locally cached orotherwise buffered at the wireless UE device while the ABR streamingsession is in a deactivation/redirection/suspension mode (block 418).For example, the locally available alternative content may compriseadvertisements, weather reports, news clips, etc., that may be relevantwith respect to (i) the video outage area that the wireless UE device isin; (ii) demographic information of the wireless UE device user; (iii)the user's estimated travel route passing through the video outage area;and/or some other user- or network-specified information identified forpreloading, etc., in any combination thereof. The amount of suchalternative content available for playback or play-out may bepredetermined based on the estimated time it may take for the vehicle/UEdevice to traverse a particular video outage area. Additional detailsregarding playback of alternative content while in an outage area may befound in one or more of the following commonly owned co-pending U.S.patent application(s): “ABR VIDEO WHITE SPOT COVERAGE SYSTEM AND METHOD”(Ericsson Ref. No.: P42807-US1), application Ser. No. 14/200,491, filedMar. 7, 2014, in the name(s) of Johan Kohli et al.; cross-referencedhereinabove and hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIG. 4C depicts a flowchart of a process 400C involving varioussteps/blocks that may take place relative to a UE/vehicle exiting theoutage area wherein the UE's ABR client controls have been disabled.Upon determining that the UE/vehicle is exiting the outage area (block420), a notification may be generated or otherwise provided to orobtained by the UE device to that effect (block 422). One or more ABRclient controls that were previously deactivated/disabled may bere-activated or enabled, e.g., upon query and/or responsive input fromthe user (block 424). If the video streaming session was also suspendedwhile traversing the outage area, a further determination may be made asto whether the user wants to (re)commence or resume the playback of thesuspended streaming session, e.g., from the point where it was suspended(i.e., from a media segment adjacent to the particular segment that waslast played), as set forth at blocks 426 and 428.

It should be appreciated that the foregoing blocks, steps and/or acts ofFIGS. 4A-4C may be arranged or re-arranged in several combinations,yielding a variety of embodiments and implementations. Further, thevarious blocks, steps and/or acts may be executed at or by differententities (e.g., by one or more network-side entities, a UE device, orboth). It should therefore be appreciated that features such as outagearea notification, ABR client control deactivation/disablement, etc.,may be network-initiated or client-initiated, depending on where some ofthe foregoing blocks, steps and/or acts may take place. Additionaldetails with respect to one or more of such embodiments may beexemplified in view of the following Figures described below.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of an example video session tracking andlocation update notification process 500 according to an embodiment ofthe present patent application. At block 502, a query or determinationis made if a mobile client is watching or playing ABR video. If themobile client is not currently engaged in an ABR video session, theprocess flow is terminated (block 506). Otherwise, the mobile client'sgeo-location, direction, travel coordinates, etc. are calculated orotherwise determined (block 504). If the mobile client is determined tobe approaching a video outage area (e.g., based on querying a learnedvideo outage location database, either locally stored or at a networkelement as described hereinabove), the outage area information isretrieved, as set forth at block 508 and 510. If the client is insidethe video outage area (block 512), an estimated exit time may becalculated based on the location, direction and rate of travel (block514). In an implementation where the foregoing acts are executed at anetwork element, the estimated exit time may be pushed to the mobileclient via a suitable notification scheme (block 516). It should beappreciated that in an alternative embodiment where the acts may beexecuted at the mobile UE device (e.g., because the mobile UE device hasa copy of the learned video outage location database or at least arelevant portion thereof), there will be no need to push suchnotifications to the device. Regardless of where the steps/acts may takeplace, however, the process flow may be executed iteratively until it isdetermined that session tracking and update notifications are no longernecessary.

FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart of an example process 600 with respect toproviding client-specific ABR notifications according to an embodimentof the present patent disclosure. Upon determining that the mobileclient is in a defined video outage area (block 602), a notification maybe provided to or obtained by the mobile client, which notification mayinclude related information such as estimated outage time, time to exitthe outage area, etc. (block 604). When the user attempts to engage anABR client control (e.g., using a trick mode or change to a differentchannel to watch another video), a client-specific message may bepresented to the user (e.g., on a display), as set forth at blocks 606and 608. By way of example, the client-specific message may comprise aquery that requires user input, such as, for instance: “Data connectionis low/weak. If you continue, video could be lost for mm:ss. Do you wishto continue?” If the user does not wish to continue with the specificABR client control process, appropriate input may be provided, whereuponthe mobile client continues to play the buffered content as describedpreviously (block 612). On the other hand, if the user input isaffirmative, the new requested content may be buffered at real-timebitrate (assuming that channel change was the ABR client controlactivated by the user), if the radio signal conditions allow suchbuffering. If there is no service signal of suitable quality, therequested content will not be buffered, however, as set forth at block610.

FIGS. 7A and 7B depict flowcharts of example processes ofnon-client-specific notification schemes (i.e., schemes that may notnecessarily require or provide for user input) according to additionalembodiments of the present patent disclosure. Reference numeral 700A inFIG. 7A generally refers to various blocks, steps or acts relative tonotification messaging when a mobile client/device enters an outagearea. Similar to some of the processes set forth hereinabove, the mobileclient that is currently playing ABR video enters an outage area, as setforth at blocks 702 and 704. A notification message indicating that themobile device is within the outage area (e.g., “Inside outage:ETA toexit is mm:ss”) is provided to the client (block 706). Additionalmessaging text, alerting or warning may be included in a display messageto inform the user that any changes to the current video session mayresult in service disruption, as exemplified in block 708. Turning toFIG. 7B, reference numeral 700B therein generally refers to variousblocks, steps or acts relative to notification messaging when a mobileclient/device exits an outage area. As discussed above, the mobileclient/device may be suspended, or playing ABR video content from theprimed buffer, or playing alternative content while it is in the outagearea (block 720). Regardless, upon determining that the mobileclient/device is exiting the outrage area (block 722), a notificationmessage (e.g., “Outside Outage”) may be provided (block 724). Similar tosome of the processes set forth hereinabove, additional information maybe included in a display message to inform the user that it is safe toengage in ABR client controls (e.g., changing a streaming channel), asexemplified in block 726.

FIG. 8 depicts additional details with respect to a portion of anexample wireless network environment 800 optimized for ABR streaming andassociated client control according to an embodiment of the presentpatent disclosure. Reference numeral 850 generally refers to a system orsub-system of one or more network elements operative to effectuatevarious network-centric acts or processes described in detailhereinabove. In one implementation, at least a portion of the networkelements 850 may form a radio network controller node (e.g., node 106 inFIG. 1) configured to serve a mobile UE/vehicle 802 via suitable BSnetwork infrastructure (not specifically shown in FIG. 8). For example,a mobile-optimized ABR stream delivery server 810 may be provided aspart of such a network controller node which may be configured todeliver ABR content to mobile client devices via respective sessionsestablished through the serving base stations of the wireless networkenvironment 800, wherein the content being delivered may originate fromany number of content sources and/or may involve appropriate CDNinfrastructure elements (not shown in FIG. 8). Accordingly, at least inone embodiment, the ABR stream delivery server 810 may be provided withappropriate radio interfaces with respect to the serving base stationsand may be configured to maintain/monitor mobile client devices'real-time user sessions. By way of illustration, reference numeral 818refers to a user streaming session effectuated with the mobileclient/vehicle 802, wherein a segment pull rate of 150 Kbs and lowestABR encoded bitrate of 400 Kbs are exemplary. The ABR stream deliveryserver 810 may also interface with a video quality location awarenessserver or subsystem 814 and associated geo-location database 816 havingrelevant video outage area information. In one implementation, such adatabase may be developed using a learning process described above withrespect to FIG. 2, which may be augmented with additional features setforth in one or more commonly-owned patent applications cross-referencedpreviously. The ABR stream delivery server 810 may further include orotherwise be associated with a sub-system called Segment Encoding andUser Session Segment Delivery and Alternative Content Push controlmodule (which may also be referred to as a “delivery module” or“delivery control module” herein, not specifically shown in FIG. 8),that may be configured to monitor delivery bitrate/bandwidth for thestreaming content delivered by the ABR stream delivery server 810 aswell as effectuate the delivery of alternative content (e.g.,advertisements). As described in one or more above-referencedcommonly-owned patent applications, the delivery module may beintegrated as part of the ABR stream delivery server 810 to providemanifest files for media segments to the UE devices in addition thealternative content delivered to the UEs pursuant to respective ABRstreaming sessions.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 8, the ABR stream delivery server 810 mayalso be interfaced with a location update and outage-aware notificationserver 808 that is configured for generating and providing appropriatenotifications and/or messages to the mobile client devices as they enteror approach a video outage area. In one example implementation, suchnotification messages may comprise a video-encoded still image of amessage (text, graphics, etc.) configured to apprise the user of anyinformation relevant with respect to the streaming session, e.g., to theeffect that an outage has occurred and/or alternative content may beplayed in lieu of the requested content for a certain predetermined timeand/or deactivation of client controls and warnings relative thereto,for instance. Additional details regarding video-encoded notificationmessaging may be found in one or more of the following commonly ownedco-pending U.S. patent application(s): (i) “CONFLICT DETECTION ANDRESOLUTION IN AN ABR NETWORK” (Ericsson Ref. No.: P42221-US1),application Ser. No. 14/194,868, filed Mar. 3, 2014, in the name(s) ofChristopher Phillips et al.; and (ii) “CONFLICT DETECTION AND RESOLUTIONIN AN ABR NETWORK USING CLIENT INTERACTIVITY” (Ericsson Ref. No.:P42767-US1), application Ser. No. 14/194,918, filed Mar. 3, 2014, in thename(s) of Christopher Phillips et al.; cross-referenced hereinabove andhereby incorporated by reference herein.

Illustratively, video outage area 804 having an ingress boundary 806Aand an egress boundary 806B is a rendition of the learned outage areathe mobile client/vehicle is estimated to traverse, whose locationupdates are available to the notification server 808 via a suitablecommunication interface 820. The notification server 808 is alsointerfaced with the video quality location awareness server or subsystem814 and associated geo-location database 816 such that appropriatenotifications, including outage entry/exit notifications, ABR clientcontrol deactivation/enablement messages, warnings, as well ascorresponding updates and the like, may be provided to the mobile clientas the vehicle carrying it traverses the outage area and/or changes itsdirection within the area. Initially, the vehicle's path may beestimated to traverse locations 1-5 crossing both ingress and egressboundaries 806A/806B, whereupon suitable entry and/exit notificationsmay be provided to the mobile client. If the vehicle 802 changes itsdirection within the outage area 804, e.g., as illustrated by locations6 and 7, updated location data may cause the notification server 808 togenerate updated notifications and messages to be mobile client inaccordance with the teachings set forth herein.

FIG. 9 depicts a block diagram of an example mobile device or wirelessUE device 900 including an ABR client/player 906 configured to executecertain aspects under control of processor(s) 902 according to one ormore embodiments of the present patent application. Appropriatetransceiver (Tx/Rx) circuitry 904 coupled to one or more antenna units914 is operative to effectuate radio communications for purposes of thepresent disclosure including, e.g., streaming of media, notificationmessaging, pre-caching of alternative content, etc. in addition to otherstandard cellular telephony/data communications. The ABR client 906 isoperative to play out segments stored in an ABR buffer 912, which may beprimed with lower quality segments for playback in an outrage area asdescribed above. A local cache 910 is operative to store preloadedcontent 810 in certain embodiments, preferably for alternative contentthat may be downloaded from a network entity while the mobile device 900is in a radio coverage area having sufficient signal quality forsupporting an overall bandwidth rate that is greater than a bandwidthrate necessary for facilitating streaming of highest bitrate contentpossible at a particular location.

As illustrated, the ABR client/player 906 is provided with a pluralityof ABR client controls 916 that may be selectively operated by users forcontrolling user experience. Such ABR client controls may comprise audiocontrols as well as video controls available with respect to a streamingsession and may include Play 916-A, Skip 916-B, Fast Forward 916-C,Trick Mode or Trick Play 916-D, Rewind 916-E, and Next Channel orChannel Change 916-E. A persistent memory module 914 may be provided forstoring appropriate program code or software instructions that may beexecuted by processors 902 for effectuating outage message processing,display of notifications, ABR client control modulation, etc. inconjunction with other modules of the mobile device 900.

FIG. 10 depicts a block diagram of an example network element 1000configured to execute certain aspects according to one or moreembodiments of the present patent application. By way of illustration,network element 1000 is exemplary of a mobile-optimized ABR streamdelivery server and/or associated delivery control module as well as anotification server as described above, which may be provided as part ofan RNC in certain embodiments. One or more processors 1002 may beprovided for controlling a plurality of subsystems, at least a portionof which may be implemented as a combination of hardware and softwaremodules stored as instructions or program code in suitable persistentmemory 1022. An outage area request module 1006 is operative toeffectuate suitable request/response mechanisms for obtaining videooutage area information via an interface (I/F) 1012 to appropriate videoQoS-aware location servers/databases described hereinabove. Optionally,an alternative content request module 1008 may be provided that isoperative to effectuate suitable request/response mechanisms forobtaining segments of alternative content based on the video outageinformation and/or user demographic information, etc., via an interface1014 to one or more alternative content servers/databases. In anotification server implementation, the network element may also includea message notification module 1020 for obtaining and/or generatingsuitable notification messages (e.g., video-encoded messages) regardingoutage area entry/exit, related timing information, ABR client controldeactivation, etc. to a mobile client in accordance with the teachingsset forth hereinabove. A delivery control module 1010 is operative toeffectuate segment encoding, user session segment delivery as well asappropriate bandwidth control for sessions via radio interfaces 1016with respect to a serving wireless network. Additionally, networkelement 1000 may also include appropriate interfacing 1018 with respectto content sources and/or associated delivery networks.

Based upon the foregoing Detailed Description, it should be appreciatedthat one or more embodiments of the present disclosure can beadvantageously implemented in a number of wireless ABR streamingenvironments that may include legacy client applications and/or customclient applications. By detecting potential video outage areas in awireless network and appropriately notifying the users in a preemptivefashion (e.g., before the users attempt to change ABR player controls),better user experience may be achieved in a video streaming environment,for example.

In the above-description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein isfor the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is notintended to be limiting of the invention. Unless otherwise defined, allterms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have thesame meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the artto which this invention belongs. It will be further understood thatterms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of this specification and the relevant art and may not beinterpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense expressly so definedherein.

At least some example embodiments are described herein with reference toblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations of computer-implementedmethods, apparatus (systems and/or devices) and/or computer programproducts. It is understood that a block of the block diagrams and/orflowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the blockdiagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by computerprogram instructions that are performed by one or more computercircuits. Such computer program instructions may be provided to aprocessor circuit of a general purpose computer circuit, special purposecomputer circuit, and/or other programmable data processing circuit toproduce a machine, so that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer and/or other programmable data processingapparatus, transform and control transistors, values stored in memorylocations, and other hardware components within such circuitry toimplement the functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/orflowchart block or blocks, and thereby create means (functionality)and/or structure for implementing the functions/acts specified in theblock diagrams and/or flowchart block(s). Additionally, the computerprogram instructions may also be stored in a tangible computer-readablemedium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processingapparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructionsstored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufactureincluding instructions which implement the functions/acts specified inthe block diagrams and/or flowchart block or blocks.

As alluded to previously, tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedium may include an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, orsemiconductor data storage system, apparatus, or device. More specificexamples of the computer-readable medium would include the following: aportable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM) circuit, aread-only memory (ROM) circuit, an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM or Flash memory) circuit, a portable compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM), and a portable digital video disc read-onlymemory (DVD/Blu-ray). The computer program instructions may also beloaded onto or otherwise downloaded to a computer and/or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operationalsteps to be performed on the computer and/or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process. Accordingly,embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in hardware and/orin software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.)that runs on a processor or controller, which may collectively bereferred to as “circuitry,” “a module” or variants thereof. Further, anexample processing unit may include, by way of illustration, a generalpurpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventionalprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSPcore, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific IntegratedCircuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, anyother type of integrated circuit (IC), and/or a state machine As can beappreciated, an example processor unit may employ distributed processingin certain embodiments.

Further, in at least some additional or alternative implementations, thefunctions/acts described in the blocks may occur out of the order shownin the flowcharts. For example, two blocks shown in succession may infact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimesbe executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/actsinvolved. Moreover, the functionality of a given block of the flowchartsand/or block diagrams may be separated into multiple blocks and/or thefunctionality of two or more blocks of the flowcharts and/or blockdiagrams may be at least partially integrated. For example, at leastsome of the nodes shown in the wireless streaming network environment ofFIG. 8 such as the ABR stream delivery server and/or associated deliverycontrol module, notification/message generation system, video outagearea location server and associated database(s), for example, may beintegrated or otherwise co-located in different combinations, includingas part of an RNC node. Furthermore, although some of the diagramsinclude arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction ofcommunication, it is to be understood that communication may occur inthe opposite direction relative to the depicted arrows. Finally, otherblocks may be added/inserted between the blocks that are illustrated.

Although various embodiments have been shown and described in detail,the claims are not limited to any particular embodiment or example. Noneof the above Detailed Description should be read as implying that anyparticular component, element, step, act, or function is essential suchthat it must be included in the scope of the claims. Reference to anelement in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one”unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structuraland functional equivalents to the elements of the above-describedembodiments that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the present claims. Accordingly, those skilled in the artwill recognize that the exemplary embodiments described herein can bepracticed with various modifications and alterations within the spiritand scope of the claims appended below.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling an adaptive bitrate(ABR) streaming client engaged in a current ABR streaming session, themethod comprising: determining that a wireless UE device executing theABR streaming client is approaching a radio white spot area; preloadingcontent into an ABR buffer to last an estimated time interval while thewireless UE device is in the radio white spot area; providing anotification to the wireless UE device with respect to the radio whitespot area, the notification including a time interval estimate of videooutage while the wireless UE is in the radio white spot area; inquiringwhether a user of the wireless UE device wants to continue with thecurrent ABR streaming session; and based on determination that the userwants to continue with the current ABR streaming session, providing amessage to the user that certain ABR client controls will be disabledfor the time interval's duration while the wireless UE device is in theradio white spot area.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising: suspending the current ABR streaming session provided theuser does not want to continue with the current ABR streaming session;and playing back pre-cached alternative content stored in a local cacheat the wireless UE device upon a user input.
 3. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the certain ABR client controls include at least one ofa channel change, fast forward, rewind, and trick mode.
 4. The method asrecited in claim 1, further comprising: determining that the wireless UEdevice is exiting the radio white spot area; and enabling the certainABR client controls that were disabled while the wireless UE device wasin the radio white spot area.
 5. The method as recited in claim 4,further comprising: providing another notification to the wireless UEdevice indicating that the wireless UE device is exiting the radio whitespot area, the another notification including an indication that thedisabled certain ABR client controls are enabled.
 6. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein the acts of determining that wireless UEdevice is approaching the radio white spot area, the preloading contentinto the ABR buffer, and the subsequent disabling of the certain ABRclient controls while the wireless UE device is in the radio white spotarea are performed at the wireless UE device.
 7. The method as recitedin claim 1, wherein the acts of determining that wireless UE device isapproaching the radio white spot area, the preloading content into theABR buffer, and the subsequent disabling of the certain ABR clientcontrols while the wireless UE device is in the radio white spot areaare performed in a network subsystem adapted to serve the wireless UEdevice.
 8. A wireless user equipment (UE) device, comprising: anadaptive bitrate (ABR) buffer for storing media segments encoded atdifferent bitrates pursuant to a current ABR streaming session; an ABRclient player configured to play back content out of the ABR buffer; andone or more processors coupled to a persistent memory having programinstructions for controlling the ABR client player to: preload mediasegments into the ABR buffer to last an estimated time interval whilethe wireless UE device is in a radio white spot area, obtain anotification with respect to the radio white spot area, the notificationincluding a time interval estimate of video outage while the wireless UEdevice is in the radio white spot area; inquire whether a user of thewireless UE device wants to continue with the current ABR streamingsession; and based on determination that the user wants to continue withthe current ABR streaming session, provide a message to the user thatcertain ABR client controls will be disabled for the time interval'sduration while the wireless UE device is in the radio white spot area.9. The wireless UE device of claim 8, wherein the one or more processorscoupled to the persistent memory having program instructions furtherfacilitate the following: suspend the current ABR streaming sessionprovided the user does not want to continue with the current ABRstreaming session; and play back pre-cached alternative content storedin a local cache at the wireless UE device upon a user input.
 10. Anetwork subsystem configured to control an adaptive bitrate (ABR)streaming client engaged in a current ABR streaming session, the networksubsystem comprising: an adaptive bitrate (ABR) stream delivery servercomprising one or more processors coupled to a persistent memory havingprogram instructions for facilitating ABR streaming sessions in awireless radio network environment; a video outage and Quality ofService (QoS) datastore having geographic location data pertaining toradio white spot areas where radio coverage is suboptimal for streamingcontent to a wireless user equipment (UE) device executing the ABRstreaming client; and a video outage awareness and notification nodecoupled to the ABR stream delivery server and the video outage and QoSdatastore, wherein the video outage awareness and notification node isadapted to: determine, responsive to a location update from the wirelessUE device, that the wireless UE device is approaching a radio white spotarea; preload content into an ABR buffer to last an estimated timeinterval while the wireless UE device is in the radio white spot area;and provide a notification to the wireless UE device that one or moreABR client controls will be disabled while the wireless UE device is inthe radio white spot area; wherein the video outage awareness andnotification node is further adapted to: obtain a notification withrespect to the radio white spot area, the notification including a timeinterval estimate of video outage while the wireless UE device is in theradio white spot area; inquire whether a user of the wireless UE devicewants to continue with the current ABR streaming session; and based ondetermination that the user wants to continue with the current ABRstreaming session, provide a message to the user that certain ABR clientcontrols will be disabled for the time interval's duration while thewireless UE device is in the radio white spot area.
 11. The networksubsystem as recited in claim 10, wherein the video outage awareness andnotification node is further adapted to: suspend the current ABRstreaming session provided the user does not want to continue with thecurrent ABR streaming session; and play back pre-cached alternativecontent stored in a local cache at the wireless UE device upon a userinput.
 12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containinginstructions stored thereon which, when executed by one or moreprocessors of a wireless user equipment (UE) device, disposed in anadaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming network environment and engaged in anABR streaming session, to facilitate modulation of player controls of anABR client player executing on the wireless UE device, thenon-transitory computer-readable medium comprising: a code portion forprocessing a notification that the wireless UE device is entering aradio white spot area of the ABR streaming network environment for atime interval; a code portion for preloading content into an ABR bufferto last the time interval; a code portion for obtaining a notificationwith respect to the radio white spot area, the notification including atime interval estimate of video outage while the wireless UE device isin the radio white spot area; a code portion for inquiring whether auser of the wireless UE device wants to continue with the current ABRstreaming session; and a code portion that based on determination thatthe user wants to continue with the current ABR streaming session forproviding a message to the user that certain ABR client controls will bedisabled for the time interval's duration while the wireless UE deviceis in the radio white spot area.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 12, further comprising: acode portion for suspending the current ABR streaming session providedthe user does not want to continue with the current ABR streamingsession; and a code portion for playing back pre-cached alternativecontent stored in a local cache at the wireless UE device upon a userinput.